ISM REHAB BLOG

Rachel Onishi is a staff physiotherapist at ISM Rehab. She went to University of Waterloo for Health Studies. While completing her undergraduate degree she was considering medical school at the time. She decided to volunteer at the physiotherapy clinic in her 3rd year of undergraduate study, and from that experience she decided that physiotherapy was the career she wanted to follow. She successfully applied to Queen’s University with a Master’s in Physical Therapy. Following graduation, she worked in private practice and community clinics.

What do Physiotherapists Do?

I enjoy working in physiotherapy, as it is a very rewarding profession in terms of working with people and helping achieve their functional goals.​Physiotherapists are primary care providers – which means that patients can directly access physiotherapists without requiring a referral. Often patients receive a referral from a physician’s office; however, this is usually for insurance purposes to allow for coverage of the physiotherapy visit from the patient’s extended health care benefits.This includes:

New Assessments and Follow-up Assessments (physio history, physical, can be trained additionally to interpret imaging results)

Specialties and Areas of Focus in Physiotherapy

Physiotherapists in respiratory rehabilitation / pulmonary rehabilitation: these physiotherapists may work with patients who are suffering from issues such as COPD, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Physiotherapists in cardiovascular rehabilitation may work with patients who are recovering from a heart attack, heart surgery or other heart conditions.

Physiotherapists in neuro rehabilitation may work with patients in hospital and in the community who may be recovering from a stroke, spinal cord injury, acquired brain injury, or suffering from conditions such as Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and ALS.

Physiotherapists in MSK / Orthopaedics / Sports Medicine see patients with a variety of conditions which may include such sprains, strains, soft tissue tears, arthritis, fractures, and post- operative conditions to name a few. They may also treat people with sports injuries, workplace injuries, or post motor vehicle accident injuries.

Paediatrics

Wound Care

Women’s Health

Critical Care

Occupational Health

Education and research

Continuing Education for Physiotherapists

Learning does not stop after physiotherapy school. There are many continuing education courses that physiotherapists can complete, and many different directions a physiotherapist can go in to focus their practice.For example, these special skills workshops go beyond what is taught in physiotherapy school, some of these courses is just on a weekend, a few weeks, or some a few years. Here are a few examples of some special skills workshops:

It's good to know that physiotherapists can provide exercise prescription. My mother-in-law has been having some back problems lately that I think could be helped by having a solid exercise and stretching routine. I'll let her know that visiting a physiotherapist could be a good place to start managing her lower back pain.

You mentioned that physiotherapists can work with people that are recovering from brain injuries. My husband got hurt at work and got a concussion, so maybe a physiotherapist would be a good option for him! I'll start looking for one in my area so I can take him.

It would be a good idea for physiotherapists to have skills like acupuncture and concussion therapy. In my mind, physiotherapists help a lot with recovering from injuries and especially sports therapy. This might be because everyone I know that has been to one was in high school with football injuries.

I didn't know that physiotherapists could actually help with so many different conditions. It might be a good idea for my neighbor to go to someone who specializes in neuro rehabilitation since they can help recovery from strokes. My neighbor recently had a stroke.